Class 8 Retail Sales on Pace to Pass 250,000 Mark

The breakneck pace of Class 8 truck sales continued in June, producing midyear figures that are 29.4% higher than the record year of 1998 and, if duplicated in the second half, would total more than 255,000 units for 1999.

Class 8 sales for the month reached 24,153, almost 34% higher than the total for June 1998. The six-month total of 127,568 was well ahead of the 98,549 sold by midyear in 1998, according to Ward Communications, an industry analysis firm Southfield, Mich.

Freightliner continued to sell more trucks than any other manufacturer, with its June sales of 8,012 representing a 45.7% increase over the previous year. The Portland, Ore.-based company held a 33.2% share of market.

Freightliner’s closest competitor, Navistar International, was one of only two manufacturers to experience a drop in sales. The 3,330 Class 8s it sold were 7% below the June 1998 figure and represented a 13.8% market share. Navistar’s midyear total of 21,556 was 7.1% above the company’s sales for the first sixth months of 1998.

“This is an amazing and exciting time to be in our industry,” said Jack Allen, vice president of heavy trucks at Navistar. “Sales levels are limited only by our production capacity and that of our suppliers.”

Allen expressed little concern about the company’s drop vs. June 1998.

“Our plans call for ramping up Class 8 production at our Garland, Texas, and Escobedo, Mexico, plants,” he said, noting that cumulative sales are still running ahead of the previous year and that “our backlog stretches into 2000.”

For the full story, see the July 19 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.